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Friday, November 06, 2026
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Chef-de-Mission Yearwood Hails 'Grit and Character' of Young Squad
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Bermuda’s chef-de-mission Ashley Yearwood has lauded the resilience and character of the island’s athletes following an eventful opening phase at the Youth Olympic Games.
Reflecting on the team’s campaign so far, Yearwood praised the squad for staying the course through testing moments on the international stage, highlighting their determination both in and out of competition.
Bermuda launched their campaign in the pool with swimmers Noah Maranzana and Maggie Meywet. While both faced stiff competition, each managed standout individual swims to be proud of.
"I think that our athletes have done such an amazing job at the Games so far," said Yearwood. "We really kicked it off strong with the swimmers... As they’ll say themselves, they didn’t have stellar swims throughout the entirety of the competition, but each one of them had one of those swims that made them really proud of themselves.
"They really struck through and stayed the course even when things didn't go their way. I'm really, really proud of them."
The drama continued on the course in the triathlon, where Luca had to overcome adversity following a mid-race crash. Despite the setback forcing a tactical and mental reset, he battled through to complete the event.
"He had that unfortunate crash which kind of took him into a different mindset and a different race," Yearwood explained. "The way he finished, and the determination and the grit that he had throughout the entire process, was really admirable."
Beyond the scoreboards and race splits, Yearwood emphasized that the most rewarding part of leading the delegation has been observing the maturity of the young contingent.
"My favourite part has been spending time with our young athletes and seeing not just that they're promising young athletes with the ability to become really great stars, but also seeing how amazing of people they are," she said. "I'm really looking forward to seeing what they do as young adults and in the future, not just as athletes, but as people."
Bermuda's attention now turns to the field, with javelin thrower Tatiana set to open her campaign on the 9th after arriving in high spirits.
"She just got here last night and is in really, really great spirits," Yearwood added. "We'll see what she can pull off."
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Thursday, November 05, 2026
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Bortoli Battles in Dakar Triathlon & Maranzana in the Pool
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Bermudian athletes were in the thick of the action across multiple venues as the 2026 Youth Olympic Games continued in Senegal, with Gianluca Bortoli taking to the coast in Saly and Noah Maranzana back on the starting blocks in the capital.
In the men's individual triathlon at Saly Beach West Water Park, Bortoli produced a determined performance across the testing swim, bike, and run course to cross the line in 22nd place overall with a time of 57 minutes 55 seconds.
The young Bermudian emerged from the choppy waters in 17th position after completing the 750m swim leg in 8:50. Transitioning smoothly onto the technical 20.0km bike course, Bortoli posted the 23rd fastest split at 30:18 before capping off his effort with a sharp 17:57 split over the closing 5.1km run—the 17th quickest run of the day.
Portugal’s newly crowned European youth champion Artur Gaspar captured the gold medal in commanding fashion, clocking 53:13 to finish four minutes and 42 seconds clear of Bortoli. Luxembourg’s Emile Vanolst secured silver, while Japan’s Daiki Nishizaki and Kazakhstan’s Ramazan Ainegov shared bronze after an inseparable photo finish.
Meanwhile, in the swimming arena, Maranzana returned to competitive action following his earlier outings in the freestyle sprint.
Contesting heat two of the men’s 50m breaststroke, Maranzana touched the wall in 33.89 seconds to take second place in his heat. The time placed him 26th overall in the preliminary round, concluding another solid showing for the Bermudian contingent on the global stage.
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Wednesday, November 04, 2026
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Maranzana & Mewett Deliver Solid Youth Olympic Swimming Displays
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 Noah Maranzana IslandStats.com
Both athletes lined up in the splash-and-dash 50m Freestyle heats before Mewett pulled double duty with an appearance in the 50m Butterfly.
Mewett delivered a sharp performance in heat five of the Women’s 50m Freestyle. Breaking from lane one, the Bermudian sprint specialist touched the wall in 28.12 seconds to claim second place in her heat, securing 27th place overall in a massive field of 69 competitors.
Maranzana mirrored that finishing position in the Men's 50m Freestyle. Drawn in the outside lane eight of heat six, he produced an explosive swim to stop the clock in 25.05 seconds, finishing eighth in a fiercely contested heat to rank 27th overall out of 55 sprinters.
Returning to the blocks for the Women’s 50m Butterfly, Mewett contested heat two from lane three. She registered a time of 31.28 seconds to finish sixth in the heat, wrapping up the preliminary round in 30th place overall from 40 swimmers.
The sprint outings marked another valuable test on the world stage for the Bermudian pair, who continue to gain top-tier championship experience as Senegal stages the historic first Olympic event on African soil.
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Tuesday, November 03, 2026
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Maranzana & Mewett in action as Youth Olympic Continues
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 Mewett Diving in the Pool IslandStats.com
Taking to lane four in the opening heat of the men's 100m breaststroke, Maranzana touched the wall in 1:18.02 to finish second in his heat. The effort placed him 25th overall in the preliminary round standings.
Shortly afterwards, Mewett lined up in lane eight for heat four of the women's 100m breaststroke. She stopped the clock in 1:25.36 to finish eighth in a competitive heat, securing 22nd place overall across the heats.
The outing marked another valuable appearance on the international stage for the Bermudian pair, who are part of the island's contingent competing at the historic first Olympic event held on African soil.
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Monday, November 02, 2026
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Mewett Finishes 14th Overall in 100m Butterfly in Dakar
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Bermudian swimmer Maggie Mewett placed 14th overall in the Women’s 100m Butterfly after finishing fifth in her heat at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar.
Competing at the Tour de l’Oeuf aquatics venue in Senegal, Mewett took to the pool in the opening heat of the event.
The Bermudian touched the wall in a time of 1 minute 12.74 seconds to take fifth spot in the heat.
The result placed her 14th on the overall standings, concluding a memorable opening weekend in Dakar where she had previously shared flag-bearing honours for Bermuda during the Games' historic opening ceremony.
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